Is this Manny Ramirez in a steroid fueled rage?

Once word got out that Manny Ramirez had been suspended for 50 games by the Commissioner of Baseball it was a matter minutes before the “undisclosed” word that HCG was the drug involved made its way through the mass media machine. By legal agreement, the specific information about drug test results is to be kept confidential and therefore not made public. So why is it then that media folks had such easy access to the information about Manny’s failed test? The only reason such information becomes public is because somebody wants it to. It took nearly five years for the results of MLB drug tests from 2003 to be made public, but the Ramirez test results are in the media within hours of a suspension announcement. The only possible answer is that someone wanted that information to be reported. So the questions that really should be answered are, who wanted that information out there, and what was their agenda?

The answers may lie in the statement issued by Ramirez, which mentions a drug prescribed by a doctor, later identified as HCG by “sources”, but does not mention anything else. The suspension from MLB was indeed handed down for the presence of HCG in Ramirez’s drug test sample, but what you have not heard in the mainstream media, (ESPN.com is all over it, but that’s for hardcore fans and not really mainstream) is that Ramirez tested positive for high levels of unnatural testosterone this past spring. That triggered the investigation, which turned up the doctor that prescribed HCG. A subsequent test confirmed the presence of HCG, so MLB suspended Ramirez for that substance because the evidence is incontrovertible and backed by a paper trail. He could have appealed, and possibly made a convincing case for the presence of elevated testosterone, so MLB simply went for the strongest case.

The statement by Ramirez was clearly an attempt to convince the general public that he was taking the HCG for an unspecified health issue. But HCG is not the drug of choice for the few male health issues it can be prescribed for. Then there is the matter of the elevated unnatural testosterone found in Manny’s spring sample. An additional problem with all of this is that if Ramirez needed the HCG for a health issue, he could have applied for an exemption from MLB if the need could be proven. So either he couldn’t prove the need, or he didn’t get guidance from uber-agent Scott Boras about applying for the exemption, or there was no need and he was taking HCG for the normal reason that steroid users take it; he needed to jump start his body’s natural testosterone after a cycle of steroids shut it down. All signs point to the latter.

So another superstar is linked to steroid use. Has he learned from others that have been nailed? Obviously, he did not. He didn’t learn that he shouldn’t take them. He didn’t learn that he couldn’t cover up his use. And he didn’t learn that baseball fans are not stupid enough to be fooled by a ridiculously unbelievable statement professing innocence. It didn’t work for finger wagging Rafael Palmiero, or an evasive Mark McGuire, or Roger Clemens, Barry Bonds, or even Alex Rodriguez. The truth always comes out, even if it takes years or has to elude cover up to reach the light of day. Will these athletes ever learn?

There is one last point I’d like to make about this affair. I am on record in the pages of The Grumble as a strong believer that Scott Boras is one man who could single handedly bring down the game of baseball. His draconian negotiation tactics and greed based bleeding of money from team owners is nothing short of evil. While I’m certain he will tell you that he does what he does for the good of his clients, I believe that he falls far short of giving his clients the best advice, and in many cases leads them in the wrong direction with bad advice. This episode with Manny Ramirez is yet another example of Boras’s mishandling of a client. Where was Boras when Manny was getting this medication from a doctor? Why didn’t he advise Ramirez to apply for an exemption, if the medication was for a legitimate health problem? Without a doubt, the statement released by Ramirez was written by minions in Boras’s office; so not only did he not give Ramirez the right advice back when he got the prescription for HCG, but he also manufactured a less than truthful statement to perpetuate a cover up of the real reason that Ramirez was taking the drug. Or, maybe Boras knew nothing about what Ramirez was doing and was completely out of the loop until the investigation was already underway, and the suspension a foregone conclusion. That’s just as bad in my estimation, and would be another example of Boras not fulfilling his obligation to protect his client. Then again, Ramirez already had his huge contract in hand, so perhaps Boras simply doesn’t get involved in advising his clients outside of negotiations for salary. Again, that would be another example of what a poor agent he is. If any of these possible explanations of Boras’s role in the Ramirez affair have a ring of truth to them, then maybe ballplayers will see it and finally stop using his services. Baseball would be better for it, and baseball players would be better off without him.